Fashion History 101: The Classic T-shirt And Jeans Combo

The easiest throw-on-and-go ensemble imaginable comes with a serious style heritage that is liberating, sexy, comfy and supremely cool. Vogue charts the fortunes of our most enduring fashion ensemble: the humble jeans and T-shirt.

Intellectualised by Italian philosopher Umberto Eco and sewn into song by David Bowie and Lana Del Rey, jeans have long been lauded. Ever since Lady Levi’s first came into play in 1935, with Vogue introducing them as “true Western chic”, denim has danced with gusto throughout the decades.

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It’s a fair assumption that when the cotton T-shirt first laid eyes on blue denim, she too thought, “marriage material.” And so the classic collaboration of cosy tee and lived-in jean has faithfully lived out a practical partnership built on comfort and camaraderie. From Lorde to the First Lady, Lauryn Hill to Lauren Hutton, everyone can wear a T-shirt and jeans. That’s why the ensemble has stuck around so long: it’s the social fabric that glues us all together.

Worn onstage for relatability, and off-duty behind the silver screen, the authentic jeans/tee combo has always been championed by icons of the era. In the ‘40s it was Elizabeth Taylor, before Brigitte Bardot took up the baton in Bretons and cropped denim; Jacqueline Kennedy’s secret street style in the ‘70s; and Jane Birkin in bell-bottoms and cap sleeves from Cannes to Cap Ferrat.

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While Elton John serenaded his “Blue jean baby” in 1971, The Runaways and Debbie Harry – all feathered hair, fierce tees and flares – were re-energising ‘70s denim on a new platform. The ‘80s saw material girl Madonna ripping off James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) in leather jacket, T-shirt and ripped blue jeans. Then came the rebels with a cause: Thelma And Louise (1991) – fugitives fuelling the look with Cuban heels.

As the supers slipped into their Calvins, the big screen got real – think gritty pictures on city streets – with oversized T-shirts and boyfriend jeans, as seen on the cast of cult films Kids (1995) and Reality Bites (1994). And with the current resurgence of little red labels, storytelling tees and monogrammed designer denim, the timeless jeans and T-shirt combo has never been more fitting. See the sartorial evolution of the enduring classic in pictorial form here.